


Pain

by nereidee (aurasama)



Category: Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Demento | Haunting Ground
Genre: Blood Loss, Crossover, Gen, Injury, Mild Gore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-09
Updated: 2013-09-09
Packaged: 2017-12-26 03:32:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/961091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aurasama/pseuds/nereidee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Daniel is badly injured during Fiona and his narrow escape from the water lurker and Fiona desperately attempts to help him. Written for the Horror Writing Challenge circulating on Tumblr.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pain

The door slammed shut behind them and Daniel swore he heard the angry roar of the water-lurking beast once more, voicing its displeasure with a loud splash as its presumed lunch escaped where it could not follow. There was the sound of something large banging against the wooden door but neither of them looked back to see if there had been any damage. They were out of water, and at that moment the stairs were the most welcoming sight they had ever witnessed in their lives.

Fiona panted heavily, her legs feeling like they were made of lead but she didn’t stop to catch a breath, wanting nothing more than to get as far away from the diabolical creature as possible.

Hewie had already made it up and was waiting for them, tail wagging and ears pointing ahead. Fiona managed a small smile, taking it as a sign that they were safe now; Hewie had never once failed to warn her of any approaching danger. Tired though she was, she climbed the stairs as fast as she could, bending down to pet her trustworthy companion. “Good boy, Hewie,” she praised and Hewie answered with an excited bark. “We’d be dead if it wasn’t for your help!” She shivered, knowing just how true this was. It was a miracle the dog had managed to buy them the seconds they needed to get away by distracting the creature and to have survived to tell the tale.

Daniel dragged himself up stair by stair, his body feeling heavier with each step. He was growing light-headed and he was starting to notice how every inch of his body felt sore now that the adrenaline rush of their escape was fading. When he reached the landing he gave one more heaving pant and collapsed on his knees, the world shifting in and out of focus. His head was pounding sickeningly and it felt as though someone had plunged a knife into his innards each time he drew breath. He clutched at his side and retched as a wave of nausea coursed through him at the touch. He hastily let go, drew back his hand and nearly retched again. It had come away bloody.

"Daniel? What’s wrong?"

Fiona had turned around to notice him kneeling on the stone floor, his visage so ghostly white it seemed to shine in the sudden stretch of daylight. Her eyes flickered to and fro between his bloodied fingers and the dark stain growing at his side, and with a small gasp she had closed the distance between them, dropping down beside him. “Let me take a look,” she said and Daniel shifted just enough to expose his left side. The fabric of his vest was badly torn, exposing something red and shredded where there should have been skin. He closed his eyes and moaned loudly when Fiona placed her palm over the wound, the pain of it almost causing him to topple over.

"It’s bleeding badly," she breathed, her voice so raw that she hardly recognised herself. "Was it… was it that thing in the water?"

Daniel nodded and immediately regretted it, the small movement being enough to make his head spin. “Whatever it was, it had sharp teeth,” he managed to utter. He was growing dizzier and dizzier, finding it difficult to focus his gaze.

 _He’s losing a lot of blood_ , Fiona thought, her heart hammering wildly in her chest with newfound fear. Daniel’s face of bereft of all colour, the shadows under his eyes so pronounced that they could have been carved into his face. He had broken into cold sweat and he was shivering visibly. She mopped his brow with her sleeve, startled by how cool his skin felt even through the fabric. She sobered up quickly from her growing state of panic at that.

"Daniel. Listen to me," she called out to him and grasped at his arms, trying to control the tremor of her hands. Her voice remained even, firm, betraying none of the fear that was threatening to swallow them both. "We need something to stop the bleeding, something to tie it with. Let me take off your vest."

Without a word protest Daniel complied, too tired to care for modesty. His hands shook so violently that he could not undo the buttons himself and Fiona took over, her fingers working fast and soon freeing him of the garment. Without stopping to think she bit at the torn fabric, shredding it into long makeshift bandages using her hands and teeth. Hewie came to hower beside her, his head bent in worry. The side of Daniel’s shirt was a deep shade of crimson, the deep red wetness still trickling down and slowly dying the waist of his trousers.

She cupped her palm under Daniel’s chin, leaning closer and tipping his head back to look into his eyes. His gaze was strangely unfocused and Fiona felt another pang of fear at the pit of her stomach. “Can you hold up your shirt? I need to see what I’m doing.”

His hands trembled worse than ever as he fumbled with the hem, rolling it up to his chest with another pained groan when fabric parted with skin, and with a sinking feeling Fiona realized the wound was much worse than she had anticipated. She swallowed and picked up the largest remaining piece of his vest, her face hesitant as she brought it closer to his side. “I’m sorry, Daniel. This is going to hurt.”

The gash was several inches long and his skin was so badly maimed that pieces of cloth had become mixed with the torn flesh, torn into such state that it hardly resembled human skin at all. Blood oozed generously from the wound each time his chest rose and fell. Gritting her teeth Fiona pressed the folded cloth over the gaping wound, doing her best not to let her resolve crumble when Daniel wailed pitifully, his entire slender frame shaking from pain and exhaustion. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she whispered continuously as she did her best to fasten the bandages around his waist to hold the cloth in place somehow and apply some pressure on the wound. If only she had something more useful… She glanced at the peculiar fountain, so close and yet so far. The wound needed to be cleaned but she daren’t attempt to move Daniel when he was swaying from side to side just from kneeling on the floor.

She finally tied the last knot, carefully testing that the contraption would stay in place before pulling his shirt back down. Blood was still seeping through the bindings and she could only pray that it would at least slow it down. She gave Daniel a worried glance, his face even paler than before and drenched in sweat. His lower lip trembled from the effort of holding himself upright during the procedure and when he lurched forward, Fiona was ready for it. Her arms encircled him as gently as possible, trying to support his weight.

"It’s alright, Daniel. Try to hold on just a little bit more and you’ll be able to rest," she breathed, trying to sound reassuring. She slowly managed to move behind him while holding him up and then lowered him with agonizing slowness, letting his head come to rest on her lap.

His breathing was laboured, the rise and fall of his chest rapid as though he had just ran a mile. With quivering fingertips she brushed away the hair obscruring his face, watching as he worked to catch his breath.

"How do you feel now?" Fiona asked softly, slowly stroking his hair.

Daniel let out a noncommittal noise, his shoulders rising in what might have been a shrug. “Tired,” he finally managed to say in a weak voice. His leaned his head against Fiona’s hands, the feeling of her fingers combing through his hair strangely soothing. It faintly reminded him of someone he had known before and he tried to focus on the hazy memory, but no face or voice appeared to accompany his recollections.

"Everything will be fine, I promise," she told him, willing herself to believe it.

 _But who had that person been_ , he wondered as his eyelids were becoming heavier. He tried to fight against the exhaustion but the promise of undisturbed sleep loomed over him and it was too tempting to resist.

"Daniel?"

If I close my eyes just for a little while…

"Don’t fall asleep!"

He barely registered that someone was shaking him, his head lolling from side to side as though boneless.

_"Daniel!"_


End file.
